The Essence of Perfume by Roja Dove, the "world’s leading perfume authority", will be published this fall by Black Dog Publishing. The book promises to "celebrate the great classics, the makers who brought them to life and the designers who gave them shape". An excerpt from the foreword, written by Roja Dove:
Today, the majority of scents are made by chemist-perfumers, created without passion or quality materials. Images and names created by anonymous marketing departments: the fragrances are made to a brief – cold, callous, and clinical. They manage to take the artistic genius out of the great art, replacing it with something which is merely the process of profit. Marketers can be considered at once remarkably talentless or remarkably skilled; creating images that appeal to our Ego, initiating our rational awareness to buy into a concept rather than a scent; this is truly dishonest but wildly effective in an industry that has become saturated with global profit-driven companies rather than the magic, skill, and artistry of a great perfumer. We often become aware of the broken promise as these marketed fragrances generally neither deliver or endure.
In many areas, the world of perfume has become debased by the drive towards rampant commercialism; employing ruthless marketing tactics to fuel this behaviour. A great perfume such as Tabac Blond by Caron has had very little marketing in some 90 years since its creation, and yet remains a success: indicating that you do not always need to convey a scent in a glossy magazine by way of sexed-up advert. A great perfume simply needs to be great. After all, a great cook, no matter how skilled and experienced, cannot create a magnificent dish with mediocre ingredients; similarly a great perfumer is only as good as the materials he works with. Today the industry is dominated by five soulless corporate giants who churn out vast quantities of fragrance every year. Some last for a while, but the majority do not; whilst at the same time discontinuing or changing some of their classical ‘greats’ on the premise of profit – giving rise to individuals whose fragrant memories have been forever stolen.
Look for The Essence of Perfume in September. It can be pre-ordered at Amazon (current hardback price: $44.10). Huge thanks to Bela of Serge Lutens ~ Nearly All The Facts for the tip and for providing the quoted text, which is from the publisher's brochure.
This should be an interesting book, especially in light of the Turin/Sanchez book. Can't wait!
I have a feeling from the way it is described that it will be structured more like Michael Edwards' Perfume Legends and so will not include “bad” reviews, but we'll see! I don't know a thing about it and had never heard of it 'til today.
Really looking forward to this book— I had the good fortune to meet Roja Dove a few years ago & he is quite an interesting character! Thanks for clueing us in on this release. I agree with you that this book will probably be mostly very complimentary— Roja is so in love with fragrance that I don't think he can bring himself to criticize too harshly. Isn't it wonderful that currently all these books are being published on fragrance? Yet another way for us to satisfy our craving for a fragrant life! I can never get enough.
In light of what Liongirl posted below, perhaps this sudden onslaught (or what constitutes one for the scent industry:-) of perfume books will cause Edwards' book to be reissued, hopefully a lot less expensively than the original!
Is it out of print? I didn't even know that.
Perhaps, although there are plenty of harsh words in that foreword.
Wow. That is one opinionated intro. I don't know nearly as much as he does about the mechanics of perfume marketing, but as a professor who holds an adjunct appointment in my university's college of nutritional sciences, I've learned a thing or two about the way gigantic food companies construct food products for mass marketing, and the process (and result) described by Dove rings about 100 bells. I sympathize with his longing for the days when perfumes were created without the input of a score of business consultants. It's the difference between artistry and engineering (although I do admire the latter; my husband is an engineer).
Anyway, I look forward to perusing that book, and I must say I love the design of the jacket.
Nowadays massmarket perfumes created without passion – so true!
Isn't that exactly what we are all missing?
No, but it costs the earth.
Oh, that's true. I got my copy on eBay for around $100, and have to say it was worth the cost.
K, did you read Chandler Burr's latest?
” … A great perfume such as Tabac Blond by Caron has had very little marketing in some 90 years since its creation, and yet remains a success … ”
Yeah … and dont expect too much help from Turin/Sanchez
What a doomed perfume when you think about it.
I have not smelled the latest incarnation of Tabac Blond, so do not know how much it has been reformulated recently — but I would have said it was doomed as soon as Caron was purchased by the Ales group.
Why ?
I dont know the reputation of the group …
Owner of Caron have always been quite strange …
How many times has Tabac Blond been changed? Never tried the original one let alone the later versions.
I have asked Caron for samples by Caron but sofar no response whatsoever, negative nor positive..
And I live in Prague, so near…
What do you mean Benoit? with 'owners of Caron have always been quite strange'
Nobody can say how many times TB has been reformulated by Caron, and doubt they will say.
During the 70' and the 80' the perfume houses have been buyed by luxe specialist groups
80% of current mainstream houses are controled by 4 or 5 groups (it is to give an idea correct me if you have better figure)
By the way .. Caron has not entered in this big game. Caron has been forgotten. The house was hold by a bank after the last founder (Félicie Wampouille first doomed love of Ernest Daltroff ) resigned.
The life of Caron during this times look likes very much what we called Niche House. Only small nomber of shops, few distribution. Caron has survived with its reputation (far more important in USA than in Europe).
Now, nobody except peopple who are realy interested in Perfume know what is Caron in France.
Caron was sold and sold again to different “small” group which were often more interested to have a prestigious name than in perfume.
It is a very chaotic history. And there is no tradition in noses like in Guerlain or Channel.
The Ales group (current owner) is a mistery for me. they were pionnered in organic product. They can be seen as outcast in the current Perfume world.
yeah and I think it is the same with other classics
Chandler Burr says that he smells the original Jicky at osmotheque …
“…and I find the original Jicky (for example), which I smelled at l’Osmotheque, the Paris perfume museum, flatly unwearable. It simply wouldn’t sell …3
I think that s a wise comment
Thank you Benoit, I see what you mean.
Hmmm. Chandler Burr seems to like clean rather than dirty, which is pretty much the opposite of my own preferences…but his preferences are probably pretty much in line w/ today's perfume buying public, so can't say he is wrong.